Nostalgia, Depression, and the Day...How Christian Hope Changes Everything!

As I was leaving Starbucks this morning, I stopped for a moment to entertain a fond memory.  For some reason, the chill in the air coupled with the taste of my favorite coffee took me back to my seminary days when some of my best friends and I would study long hours at the “Bux.” I wanted to laugh again with Adam.  I wanted to talk apologetics with Stevo.  I wanted to hear El’s voice and just give him a hug.  I wanted to watch Jeremy’s face as he savored a Pumpkin Spice Latte (those who know Jeremy know what I’m talking about). 

Those were some really good days, and for a moment, I wanted them back. And for another moment, I felt a depression in my gut after coming to grips with the fact that those days are history – never to be experienced outside of my memory again.  I can’t have them back.  They must take their right place in my life and savored as great blessings from a good God.  They are shadows (Col 2:17) – a mere taste of what awaits us, the saints, in glory.

I think it is human to cherish the best of what has been and to long for the great things that await us in the future.  It’s the reason we take pictures.  It’s the reason we get excited about that upcoming vacation.  There are periods of time that bring peace and comfort to our being; and while we are in the midst of them, we typically busy ourselves with the dread of knowing that this, too, will end.  Soon, it will be a picture…a memory.  Soon, it will be history. 

There are reasons why “all good things come to an end.”  There is a reason why good things are like bites of chocolate cake – hitting the tongue, savored for a moment, and then gone into the belly.  Here are a few reasons that come to mind:

First, good things are merely shadows; and all shadows change and relocate being dependent on the position of the Sun.  In other words, we are a wilderness people, on the move, and forbidden to settle down.  Sure, we set up shop for a time, but the Sun will soon move. We must follow. Seasons change.  If we stay where the shadow was, we will experience great discomfort, viz. sunburn.  If we stay in the winter, the summer heat will get the best of us.

Those who “over-desire” the past or future, settle there or “set their minds” on such things.  People who live in the past are usually depressed.  Why wouldn’t they be?  What they long for is impossible to have!  And those who live in the future are usually anxious and ridden with fear.  Why wouldn’t they be?  What they long for is contingent upon things that are outside of their control and thus may never happen!

Second, shadows are not to be cherished, but only the Substance.  The depression that I felt this morning, and often feel after being drunk with nostalgia, drives me to Christ, my Ultimate Satisfaction. Those who find comfort and protection in the shadow shouldn’t love the shadow (though they enjoy it), but the Tree that provides it.  Similarly, it is okay to remember the past with great joy.  Its okay to find pleasure in the present, and to get excited about future events.  But we must never love them more than the One who provides them.  The Giver gets the glory – the gift does not.

Third, over-desiring things (and times) that are not designed to last produces misery.  The good news is that misery drives us to movement and will only be relieved by Christ.  I cannot be separated from my Lord.  Time or geography does not have the power to produces statements like, “Remember when I used to live with Christ in Mississippi?  Man!  Those where the good days!”  Rather, He is with us always in a loving relationship that will never end!

Fourth, I can honestly say that I don’t really long for things that I had in the past.  I do, however, long for the relationships.  Therefore, this leads me to cherish the relationships in life rather than things or possessions.  This must be why “storing up treasures in heaven” is directly correlated to “loving your neighbor as yourself.”

Last, this makes me long for glory.  Christian hope makes the fleeting nature of good things bearable.  Our hope is what makes earthly (or wilderness) relationships worth the effort and investment.  When we pour our lives into another human being, we do so with a certain knowledge that this relationship will never end!  Have you ever thought of that? 

Those who have no hope find little reason to love at all.  They avoid relationships and lovers because they know all too well the inevitability of the end.  But Christians, though they die – they live (John 11:25-27).  There will be no end to the friendships which are founded upon the Rock.  By faith, we set our minds on a past Event – the Cross of Christ.  And in hope, we set our minds on that Day when we will appear with Him in glory.  Until then, we love God and neighbor – under the shadow of His benevolent wing. 

So, as I was driving to work, I thought to myself, “I’m going to laugh with Adam, learn with Stevo, talk to Elbert, and savor Pumpkin Spice latte’s with Jeremy (I think – why wouldn’t something so delicious be in heaven!), in Christ, forever.  I have no idea how that’s going to work itself out – God does.  And when that Day comes, “we will have no less days to sing our God’s praise than when we had first begun" - in Jackson, Mississippi, at the Bux!